Shopian: As the traditional pear varieties in Kashmir were facing many challenges, like low market rates, diseases, and brief shelf life, private importers in association with the horticulture department have brought about half a dozen new pear varieties to Kashmir which have better features than those of the locally grown varieties.
The new imported varieties include Abateh Fateh, Conference, Red Carmine, and Carmine.
Izhan Javid, chief executive officer of Fruit Master Agro Fresh, a leading fruit company, said that these pear varieties have been imported in association with the government and are being grown at the Centre of Excellence at Zawoora Srinagar.
He said that the varieties are being cultivated for research purposes as of now, but within two to three years they will be distributed among growers after the horticulture department gives the go-ahead.
According to experts, the major problems with locally grown pears like Babgosh and Koternal were russetting, less shelf life, and unsatisfactory market rates, which forced the authorities to import new varieties.
“The taste, crunch, shelf life and market rates of these new varieties are much better than of those we grow here. They fetch much higher rates in markets of India,” Javid said.
It’s pertinent to mention here that some of these imported varieties, like Red Carmine, are being grown in Kashmir by many orchardists, but these were imported by the growers themselves. They say that Red Carmine gets three times higher rates than the locally grown pear.
Dr Zahoor Ahmad, senior SKUAST scientist based at Pahnoo research centre, told Kashmir Reader that the new varieties are being brought in due to their market demand.
“It is true that the traditional varieties have been seeing declining rates and are also beset with diseases, besides lesser shelf life. The new varieties ripen at different times of the year, which maintains good market rates, and they are resistant to diseases as well,” he said.
However, Dr Ahmad warned that no variety should be imported without first undergoing quarantine and research or else it would lead to arrival of new diseases and pests.
Bilal Ahmad Malik, a fruit grower in Shopian, said that last year he sold Red Carmine at Rs 1,250 a box in markets outside Kashmir and the local Babgosh at just Rs 300.
Like me, many people have started growing new varieties and we found them also to be disease-resistant. In some traditional trees we conducted grafting of the new varieties and it was also successful,” he said.
Javid said that the traditional varieties are not being stored because of their low shelf life, but new varieties like Red Carmine and Conference can be stored for months.

Raashid Hassan